Free State Wyoming Forum
Wyoming Research and Information => General Wyoming Living Information => Topic started by: 338_LM on October 30, 2013, 11:18:30 AM
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I seldom visit this site, and I'm sorry to be such a stranger, because I always enjoy it when I do drop by... Two years in a row, I fully intended to come to one of the gatherings.
I post so infrequently that I usually reintroduce myself, so... I've lived in Wyoming for 24 years, since August, 1989, and loved it more than any other place I've ever been. Near TOTAL freedom, here. I moved to Converse County at 20, from Baltimore. At that time, I made $700/mo on a cattle ranch, but started buying my own health insurance way back then. Yeah, it took food off my table. I didn't even have a cell phone until I was 30 or so, as I tried to do the responsible thing, by having a catastrophic health care plan, and saving for retirement too. (Paying SE tax compounded the financial difficulties, but I made it work.)
In these past 24 years, I've paid over $100,000 in premiums to three different carriers (I changed when I was married, then again when divorced), yet NEVER MADE A CLAIM!!! In June of this year, I got the first letter from my carrier... My high-deductible (first $5,000 annually on me, EVERYTHING ELSE on them to $6M/lifetime) plan was being terminated, "due to mandates in the ACA". I could not be grandfathered, because my existing plan did not qualify under the ACA. (What the HELL was grandfathering, then???) In June, my carrier offered me a new plan with a vastly reduced deductible (now at $2K) and a monthly rate up 253%. THey proudly stated that it now covered maternity, dependencies, and pediatric dental care. (Great, for a single MAN with no children or addictions. NO, you damned Socialists, we are NOT all the same.)
Three weeks ago, in early October, I got "the letter" that my policy will terminate on March 1, 2014. They urged me to go to the exchange for coverage. I won't even try that crap. I called WinHealth - they're exiting the private marketplace in Wyoming Dec. 31st. Blue Cross is my only option. No thanks. I'm going without. Thanks to Obamacare, for the first time in my life, I will be uninsured. I REFUSE to pay triple the rates for insurance to cover things I can't possibly have.
Of course, we all knew (based on things said by members of the administration) that Single Payer was the goal; I just didn't expect it to happen so quickly. Anyone could see, had they opened their eyes, that the very insurance companies they loved to hate were now in bed with the Feds, and you were now FORCED to engage in business with them. How could it NOT fall apart, leaving "us" screaming for Single Payer? WELL PLAYED, Commies. Well played.
And just how does that Single Payer crap work out? My German friend, at 50 y/o, pays €650 per month from his paycheck for German healthcare, while his employer matches that amount. (That's like almost $1800/mo at today's exchange rate of $1.37/€1)
My ex wife was Dutch... You know, from the Netherlands, that NPR tells us has a fantastic healthcare system. Somebody please tell me why it took her suffering FIVE YEARS of recurring sore throats as a kid and 'tween, before they finally removed her tonsils and ended the problem for good.
Okay, now I could get to ranting, so I'll end it here. Calgon, take me away. We evidently weren't safe in Wyoming, and the 10th Amendment is meaningless.
I s'pose the real reason for this post is that I'm wondering what is happening to other members here, to their insurance policies, and what "we" are going to do about it.
Blessing to all who live here, or dream to.
- Darrin
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I'm not giving anyone control of my health, any more than I'd give them control of my guns. >:D
Molon labe...
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The only "good" thing I can say about my period of indentured servitude to the .gov is that, even if I never use it I am "covered" by the VA so I am "exempt" from Obamacare and can do/buy whatever the hell I want.
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The only "good" thing I can say about my period of indentured servitude to the .gov is that, even if I never use it I am "covered" by the VA so I am "exempt" from Obamacare and can do/buy whatever the hell I want.
Today...tomorrow may be another story.
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The only "good" thing I can say about my period of indentured servitude to the .gov is that, even if I never use it I am "covered" by the VA so I am "exempt" from Obamacare and can do/buy whatever the hell I want.
Today...tomorrow may be another story.
I'll deal with tomorrow tomorrow. Today I will use my "advantage" to make myself more attractive to employers and use the time/money saved NOT signing up to agitate AGAINST it (or the inevitable proposed "single payer" system.)
If they are happy having my name "checked off" so I don't have to pay into THEIR system,then I'm happy. I'll spend my FRNs how I please on the medical care of my choice (not the VA...).
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I just saw an article (not really worth reading but link follows) that says that Obama blames "bad apple" insurers for canceling coverage for individuals. Hundreds of thousands have lost their insurance plans.
Businesses are not started or operated for loss, but for profit. If laws are passed that force businesses to operate at a loss, how can the lawmaker blame the business when they say "never mind"?
http://news.yahoo.com/top-u-health-official-apologies-troubled-website-132800155--sector.html
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I just saw an article (not really worth reading but link follows) that says that Obama blames "bad apple" insurers for canceling coverage for individuals. Hundreds of thousands have lost their insurance plans.
Businesses are not started or operated for loss, but for profit. If laws are passed that force businesses to operate at a loss, how can the lawmaker blame the business when they say "never mind"?
http://news.yahoo.com/top-u-health-official-apologies-troubled-website-132800155--sector.html
It's easy to blame businesses. You just walk up to the microphone, remove the ethics & honesty chips from your motherboard and start talking. ;D
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If laws are passed that force businesses to operate at a loss, how can the lawmaker blame the business when they say "never mind"?
Because intelligence or rational thinking has never been part of "government" or their "laws." Trying to make sense of any of it can lead to major depression and other mental problems. :) I think the phrase is, "THIS MAKES ME CRAZY!" >:D
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I think the phrase is, "THIS MAKES ME CRAZY!" >:D
Isn't that a Britney Spears song? Wait...I think it was "YOU DRIVE ME CRAZY". :P
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Of course it's "the insurance companies' fault" so many of us are being cancelled. It's always somebody else's fault with politicians. We expected they would say that. One small step (backward) for health, one giant leap for single payer. The joke is on us.
But here's the hypocrisy that really blows my mind... I'm being told my quarter-century long plan that was affordable and worked well for me was "sub-standard" because it "didn't really cover anything important" and "wasn't real insurance" because the deductible was far too high - at $5,000/yr. Umm, hey Big Bro, anything UNDER $5,000 is pretty much unimportant (in the medical industry du jour) and it was EXACTLY the definition of insurance: risk mitigation. What's next? Can I no longer carry a $2500 deductible on my collision and comprehensive auto policy?
Now, as we read stories of people's experience with the Exchange(s), they're being hit with deductibles FAR HIGHER than $5,000. So why was it that I could no longer buy a $5K-ded policy on the open market, but now I'm forced into a HIGHER deductible policy from Obamacare, that STILL costs more???
Nobody can give me a concrete answer to this, either... What happens to my HSA savings? I was able to squirrel away pre-tax fiat dollars into a Health Savings Account, to "put my money where my mouth was" that I could cover my deductible. That made sense, was a little tax perk, and was the best option for those looking to enjoy a little personal responsibility and individual liberty in their lives.
It really has nothing to do with health care, but everything to do with control of the Citizenry. I was never a fan of insurance companies to begin with; I used to say that you basically paid them to hire people to come up with new excuses to not provide benefits... I chalked them up in the "necessary evil" column, bit the bullet, wrote the check, and crossed my fingers.
Even knowing that, I'd still prefer to take my chances on the open market where I can make decisions for myself. Turning it over to Big Bro removes all hope of being in control of ones own health (and thus, EVERYTHING one consumes or participates in, FOREVER).
I'd rather endure the potential risks of Liberty, than suffer the certain consequences of Tyranny. I will not comply.
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Turning it over to Big Bro removes all hope of being in control of ones own health (and thus, EVERYTHING one consumes or participates in, FOREVER).
Fortunately, nothing lasts "forever." It may seem like it sometimes, but the very extremes that make this so painful and destructive are the very things that will lead to its early death. Tyrants are not omnipotent, and never will be. :)
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Well, you're certainly right that nothing lasts forever; entropy dictates that, for sure. My beef is that I seriously doubt it'll change in my lifetime, without a little "watering" of the Tree of Liberty, which I'm also not looking forward to witnessing.
They are NOT going to give this up. With half the population on the dole, in one form or another, I am feeling pretty hopeless for a solution before I am pushing up daisies.
For once, I am glad I never had kids.
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My beef is that I seriously doubt it'll change in my lifetime, without a little "watering" of the Tree of Liberty, which I'm also not looking forward to witnessing.
Nobody I know wants to have to do this, but I don't intend to be a mere witness. I'll be glad to do some of the "watering" if it falls that way. :) I DO expect it to happen in my lifetime. I don't think for a moment that this can go on much longer. Just think about what happens when the dollar is no longer worth anything, government (foreign) creditors won't take it anymore, and all the government checks start bouncing.
The little dust up over the EBT cards not "working" for a few hours a little while back should give us a good idea. Those folks will not be happy when the music stops... and they may do quite a bit of the "watering" all by themselves.
No, we don't want it, and we sure didn't ask for it or cause it... but I think a good many of us are ready and willing to finish it.
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I have 0% deductible, 0$ premium and 0 coverage. It is no damn bodies business what my health is nor is it their duty to pay for failures in my health. I have not been to an allopath that i did not pay the bill in it's entirely from my own pocket. I am presently saving up for a trip to the dentist...another 9000usd and i will be scheduling that visit. Until then, i endure.
When that day of reckoning comes that the fed extorts a few thousand dollars a year from me, i will be doing the same thing that many others in my shoes will do...
QUIT WORKING!
BTW, i have been subsidising the medicare system on my mother's behalf for the last 7 years. If it were left to the state she would have perished years ago. i would be happy to pay the whole bill, If my father had not paid in for his entire adult life.
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The system is broke in so many ways. I have experience on several aspects that just make me shake my head. From the patient aspect, the parent aspect, the healthcare provider and also the medical biller. When a patient presents to the ER and ends up having a fairly major surgery with a tab of $18000.00+ and then the VA coverage pays around $700 and the hospital writes off the rest this is not appropriate. I know perfectly well that the surgery did not cost $18000.00 but I also know that the $700 did not cover the supplies or staff for the surgery either. In the current system the ones really getting screwed are the people who are self-pay---they don't get the fancy discounts that insurance, medicare or Medicaid get!
There is a disconnect between the consumer and the hospital. There is also a disconnect between the industry and the government.
Brandy ~W~
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Check out the Surgery Center of Oklahoma: http://www.surgerycenterok.com/about/
It is no secret to anyone that the pricing of surgical services is at the top of the list of problems in our dysfunctional healthcare system. Bureaucracy at the insurance and hospital levels, cost shifting and the absence of free market principles are among the culprits for what has caused surgical care in the United States to be cost prohibitive. As more and more patients find themselves paying more and more out of pocket, it is clear that something must change. We believe that a very different approach is necessary, one involving transparent and direct pricing.
Transparent, direct, package pricing means the patient knows exactly what the cost of the service will be upfront.
And visit Dr. Smith's blog here: http://surgerycenterofoklahoma.tumblr.com/
He tells it like it is. And they don't take "Medicare."
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Bureaucracy at the insurance and hospital levels, cost shifting and the absence of free market principles are among the culprits for what has caused surgical care in the United States to be cost prohibitive. ... We believe that a very different approach is necessary, one involving transparent and direct pricing.
Transparent, direct, package pricing means the patient knows exactly what the cost of the service will be upfront.
No kidding. I have had various tests and procedures recommended, and when I ask, "How much is that going to cost." All I get is blank stares, and, "try calling this number" where I get the same blank "I dunno." I guess, just like the health care bill they passed, you just can't find out what is in it until you get the bill.
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If you have to pass it to find out what's in it...
You have just defined a Stool Sample.
Apt description of any fedgov prescription...